Guinea Flower

Hibbertia obtusifolia.  One of a few Hibbertia known as Guinea Flowers.

The Murrumbidgee River in the Bullen Range Nature Reserve. A favourite place.

Gang-gang Cockatoos

Male Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum nibbling on gumnuts in the garden...

And the female..

And a pair together near the mailbox.

A female showing her crest.

Bungonia Gorge

Correa Correa reflexa.  The flower is pointing down and clasped between the two leaf like bracts indicating Correa reflexa var. reflexa. 

Nephila plumipes, one of the Golden Orb Weaver spiders. The male appears to be above her on the other side of the web.  Plenty of this species at Bungonia.

Bungonia Gorge and the "Boulder Stack"

Dawn camp at Shoalhaven River

Shoalhaven River

South Bullen Range

Violet Kunzea Kunzea parvifolia

A Small Copper Lucia limbaria

Blackthorn or Australian Blackthorn with rusty coloured seed capsules Bursaria spinosa

Orchard Butterfly

A female Orchard Butterfly Papilio aegeus was observed laying a single egg on our lemon tree.  She was a beautiful big butterfly with a very big bite sized chunk missing from both back wings.  As she jinked into the garden, it was interesting to see how excited she was by the lemon trees, fussing all around until laying a single pearly egg.

The egg gradually became darker as the caterpillars black head became apparent.  Then one morning, 8 days after the egg was laid, the little guy was hatched out.

Then he did a U-Turn and commenced to eat up the egg case.

  The caterpillar was able to produce the osmeterium at a few hours old.

Mt Coree

White's Skink Egernia whitii looking a bit worse for wear.  Besides having his tail missing, there are red spots in the ear and between the toes which look like mites. This morph has brown back without spots.

They are pretty cute!

Lots of Scarlet greenhoods Pterostylus coccina.

View west from Mt. Coree.

In The Garden

A later instar larvae of the Orchard Butterfly Papilio aegeus on a lemon tree.  I thought it must be introduced but it is actually a native species that just really likes lemon trees. We check on him every day.  He spends a lot of time very still, sometimes on a narrow pad of silk. If we come by and catch him eating he will stop.

Garden Orb Spider Eriophora transmarina in her web just after dusk.She is re-using the same web from yesterday. Hard to see but she has a great white stripe down her abdomen.